The Wales and Neath rugby legend's new autobiography gives his verdict on the modern game and reveals his softer, animal-loving side.

He was one of the toughest men to put on a Welsh rugby jersey, a “working class hero” who worked down the pit before running on the pitch.

Ex-Wales and Neath back row forward Dai Morris nicknamed “The Shadow” once threatened to “deck” some of Wales’ hardest forwards whose drunken antics were swaying a propeller plane on a 1970s New Zealand tour.

And they all sat down quietly.

But in his revealing new autobiography, Morris has revealed his softer side and in particular his love for animals.

As a boy growing up in Rhigos in the Cynon Valley the young Dai Morris befriended an injured magpie which consequently hopped on his shoulder on the way to school each morning and waited outside for the journey home.

Later, he brought a starving, scrawny Welsh mountain ewe back to life by feeding it milk from bottles and “Mary” then followed him wherever he went around the village.

In later life he rescued an injured duck being threatened by a fox from a dangerous frozen pond and taught the bird to come to his whistle commands.

In years to come, there would even be a pet cemetery behind his Rhigos home for his countless adopted, abandoned animals.

Rugby-playing miner Dai Morris won 34 caps for Wales in the years between 1967 and 1974, scoring six tries.

During his time in the Wales team, Morris won three Five Nations Championships (one shared with France), including two Triple Crowns and one Grand Slam.

In his book, being launched at his beloved Rhigos Rugby Club on October 24, Morris suspects he knows why some modern Welsh players get into trouble off the pitch.

He said: “I’m sure my kind of mental ‘down the pit and onto the field’ preparation would be frowned on now but I had little choice.

“I’d have a quick pithead shower, put on a tracksuit and jump in the car.”

“I don’t envy them being confined in the spacious Vale of Glamorgan headquarters but I do feel some of them need a life beyond rugby and training.

“How are they going to cope with reality?

“I suspect a few of the current players who have got into trouble in late-night incidents have been letting of steam because they are bored with the cloistered routine.”

Morris also has words of warning for the WRU.

He said: “We have four regional teams whereas there were 16 first class clubs when I was playing.

“That meant more were exposed to the demands of competitive rugby.

“There are some exceptional players in the current Welsh set-up and the success they have achieved is well deserved.

“But below the elite regional level I genuinely believe we could be in trouble before long.

“We have too many struggling clubs, too many 15 and 16-year-olds drifting off and far too many ‘old-hand mercenaries’ at senior level drifting in and some of our best players drifting out.”

He added: “What I do know is hardness is not born in a gym.”

Speaking of the tackle by fellow Welsh international Tommy David in 1974 that ended his career, Morris said: “I was spun around and heard my leg crack.

“I had broken my cruciate ligaments. I knew it was serious. The pain was unbelievable. But I refused to go to hospital. I can’t stand hospitals.”

The book contains many tributes from well known names.

His friend, “the Bard of Glynneath” Max Boyce said: “In rugby terms he’s the definitive working class hero, one of the greatest players to wear the Welsh jersey.”

Gareth Edwards added: “What we had from Dai, every game, was a full shift. He’d be everywhere.”

Ex Wales and British Lions star Barry John said: “If I went on one of my running jaunts and felt the world closing in all I had to do was pop the ball over my head because I knew the ever present W D Morris would be there.”

Morris’ daughter Helen said: “I’m as soft as my father. I’ve still got a stray dog 15 years after it was abandoned.

“And yes, I confess I went to a supermarket for biscuits to feed some ragged sheep.”

His wife Marlene said: “He’s played some of the toughest of opponents but there’s not a mean bone in his body.

“Dai Morris to us is a real softie but only we’re allowed to say that.

“He’s devoted to us but the number of pets he’s had is nobody’s business.

“There’s a pet cemetery round the back, we’ve had a funeral service for every one of them.”

The Dai Morris Story: Shadow by Dai Morris with Martyn Williams is published by Y Lolfa (£9.95).

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